I Am With you, I Have Always Been with You, Don’t Be Afraid

Antonello Ghezzi

I Am With you, I Have Always Been with You, Don’t Be Afraid

curated by
Laura Di Vetta

Santo Stefano di Sessanio (AQ), Abruzzo

The starry sky at night in Santo Stefano di Sessanio takes one’s breath away. One sees the whole Milky Way and the multitude of stars. One is no longer in one of the most beautiful medieval villages, in the province of L’Aquila, overlooking the Gran Sasso at 1,250 meters above sea level. The stars widen all our imagined boundaries, until they disappear. The infinite and the Universal take over.
I am with you, I have always been with you, don’t be afraid is made up of countless flags that fly, hoisted between the houses and buildings of the village, in the most remote and exposed corners, from the ancient towers. Another installation surrounds the structures of the town, titled Under the same sky. It is a large canvas, a collage of fabrics of infinite blues. Studded with stars and shooting stars, the canvas wraps around a construction scaffolding.

"I AM WITH YOU, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WITH YOU, DON’T BE AFRAID" IT CAN BE A SONG, OR A POEM. IT IS THE INTENT, A FEELING TO MAKE US FEEL PROTECTED, IN A WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING IS UNCERTAIN AND WE NEED TO ESCAPE, TO HIDE

Antonello Ghezzi was born in 2009 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna via the meeting of Nadia Antonello (Cittadella, 1985) and Paolo Ghezzi (Bologna, 1980). The duo began their collaboration with the Toilet Project at the Bologna Art Fair.

THE STARRY SKY AT NIGHT IN SANTO STEFANO DI SESSANIO TAKES ONE’S BREATH AWAY. THE STARS WIDEN ALL OUR IMAGINED BOUNDARIES, UNTIL THEY DISAPPEAR. THE INFINITE AND THE UNIVERSAL TAKE OVER

Santo Stefano di Sessanio (AQ)

Abruzzo

Santo Stefano di Sessanio owes its prosperity to its strategic position near the very important “tratturo regio”, the main migration road that connected L’Aquila to Foggia. In the twelfth century, the village became part of the Barony of Carapelle. Later, it became a possession of the Piccolomini family, who were succeeded by the Medici from the end of the 16th to the 18th century, and then subsequently annexed to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as a private possession of the King until the unification of Italy.
The period of greatest splendor for Santo Stefano di Sessanio corresponds to the regency by Francesco de ‘Medici and the commercial success of Carfagna wool, a particular dark-colored raw wool. The village was built according to the scaffolding technique: all the original buildings were built around a central element consisting of an ancient watchtower, better known by the misnomer of Torre Medicea.

Acknowledgements: Fabio Santavicca, Stefano Fulgenzi, The Pro Loco of Santo Stefano di Sessanio and its President, Vincenzo De Laurenzi, all the commercial activities and tourism services involved in the event, in particular Sextantio Albergo Diffuso, Daniele Kihlgren, Galleria Vistamare, Benedetta Spalletti, BB COUTURE - Made in Italy.